Hostage Briton 'free today'

British hostage Matthew Maguire, seized in Nigeria's southern oil region nine months ago, may be freed within hours, his captors said today.

Militant group the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta said it aimed to release Mr Maguire before the end of the day to mark his 35th birthday. The British High Commission in Nigeria could not immediately be reached for comment.

Mr Maguire, a diver from Birkenhead, is the last of 27 oil workers to be released after they were kidnapped when their vessel was hijacked in early September. More than 200 foreign workers have been taken captive in the Niger delta since 2006